F-16C Block 52+
Posted on 03/18/2010 9:06:45 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The United States on Thursday left open the possibility of further arms sales to Taiwan, with a senior official saying that China's military buildup was aimed squarely at the self-governing island. President Barack Obama's administration in January approved a 6.4 billion dollar arms package for Taiwan including helicopters, Patriot missiles and mine-hunting ships, angering Beijing.
State Department official David Shear told a congressional panel that the United States will "continue to stand by our commitment" under US law to provide Taiwan with weapons to defend itself.
"Taiwan must be confident that it has the physical capacity to resist intimidation and coercion in order to engage fully with the mainland," said Shear, the deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia.
Testifying before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, US officials declined to say if the Obama administration would approve a top item on Taiwan's wish-list -- F-16 fighter-jets.
Despite his drive to repair relations with Beijing, President Ma Ying-jeou has pitched for F-16s to refurbish Taiwan's aging fleet. A recent report by Taiwan's defense ministry found that China has gained an edge in air power.
Michael Schiffer, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, said he "didn't want to suggest a decision one way or the other" on the F-16s.
China has been ramping up military spending for years as part of a modernization drive for its People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Despite China's growing interests around the world, "we believe that the primary focus of the PLA build-up remains oriented on preparing for contingencies in the Taiwan Strait," Schiffer said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sinodaily.com ...
I don’t understand why anyone with a brain believes word one out of scumbag Obozo’s pie hole.
F-16C Block 52+
Why not buy some MiGs or Sukohis from the Russians.
Taiwan and Russia already trades about $4 billion in goods and both have representatives in each others capitals.
And the Swedes are hard up for money, try buying the Gripen.
I do not think that Tawian would never ever buy from Russia military gear. We do have a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan (Signed at December 1954)and the Taiwan Relations Act(United States Code Title 22 Chapter 48 Sections 3301 - 3316)
I did neglect to mention the Mutual Defense Treaty was terminated in 1980, however the Taiwan Relations Act remain in force.
I agree with you on the Russian front. The Russian are already POed about Chinese rip-offs of their hardware. Also, the with China and India’s developing indigenous defense industries and Western companies capturing a greater share of the Indian market, Taiwan would serve as a useful, fairly credit worthy, customer to replace the lost sales. Furthermore, the Russians would have to be idiots not to recognize the natural resource-poor Chinese threat to their sparsely populated resource-rich East. Taiwan might serve as an effective counterweight—maybe not as good as India, but still serviceable.
I agree with you on the Russian front. The Russian are already POed about Chinese rip-offs of their hardware. Also, the with China and India’s developing indigenous defense industries and Western companies capturing a greater share of the Indian market, Taiwan would serve as a useful, fairly credit worthy, customer to replace the lost sales. Furthermore, the Russians would have to be idiots not to recognize the natural resource-poor Chinese threat to their sparsely populated resource-rich East. Taiwan might serve as an effective counterweight—maybe not as good as India, but still serviceable.
Unfortunately, the Gripen contains U.S. parts. That means it needs U.S. approval for export. For whatever reason, we have a policy of selling the Taiwanese outdated equipment. IMO, we should at least be offering them Eagles. If the Saudis can buy them, and ever-increasingly islamic Turkey is a participant in the JSF program, I think the Taiwanese should be offered them. Truth be told, even if we sold them F-16s (presumably Block 52s) I don’t think that allow them anything close to parity with the ChiComs’ Flankers (J11s). At least updated Eagles should be able to go toe-to-toe with them. Sorry for the double post. I pressed post too soon.
War with China to get the economy going after the Progressives finish implementing the Raw Deal?
Wars are always good for an economy
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